The Promise
by penumbraaa
Summary: Four times the Doctor saw Rose Tyler and one time he was too late. Warning: character death.


Rose Tyler first saw The Doctor when she was six years old. He looked 25, but no one was to be sure.

He watched her as she walked home from school, his brown eyes finding her hazel ones.

He didn't smile. He looked happy, though, as if the very sight of her caused him to feel that way. She wondered who the man was, but her mother, Jackie, had taught her not to talk to strangers, so she hurried home, not daring to look back at the mysterious stranger with the sad eyes and the gelled hair.

She could feel his stare burning holes into her skin.

OoOo

Rose saw him again, exactly four years after that. She was ten, and he still looked 25.

Since her first encounter with him, she had gathered some courage, probably because of her mum. Apparently, Jackie had been a brave little girl, and there was no doubt in Rose's mind that she would be, too.

She asked him who he was, and he replied with a simple name. She asked him why he watched her, and he didn't reply.

She didn't ask again.

Rose stared at him, taking in the pointy, messy features, and banking them in her mind for later use.

She checked her watch, told him she had to go, and left without another word.

This time, she turned around to see if he was still watching her, and she realized that he was gone, along with the old blue police box that he had been leaning against.

She smiled to herself.

OoOo

When Rose was twelve, and he still looked 25, the strange man returned.

She asked him if he was following her. He smiled. He said no, that she simply crossed paths with him rather often.

She asked if he knew anything about the police box he was standing by.

He said he didn't, but even twelve year old Rose could tell that he was lying. Still, she didn't press any further.

She asked if he was real.

He nodded profusely, and told her one last thing before you left: _if you ever need me, just say my name._

The two said a quick goodbye.

OoOo

The next and last time Rose would ever see the Doctor was when she was fifteen and he looked 25.

He asked if she needed anything, and she was quick to say no.

She asked who he was, and he didn't reply, but grabbed her hand. His skin was cool and soft, and to Rose, it felt like an old friend. Instead of pulling away, she let him hold it, and finally, he said goodbye.

She took that as her queue to leave, but she couldn't help but stare at him for a few seconds longer before she left.

_If you ever need me, just say my name._

OoOo

Rose called for the Doctor when she was seventeen and dying.

She was depressed and weighed practically nothing and had scars on her wrists and she needed help. Even she knew it.

She had called to him, tears leaking down her bony cheeks, hands clasped in a prayer-like position. She told him how she needed someone, _anyone_. How she was alone. How he needed to come. How she was fading away.

She felt the weight of the world on her narrow shoulders.

She screamed and yelled and pleaded, as if it would make any difference.

She sobbed and writhed in the agony of living and finally succumbed to soft chants of his name.

She was alone, and the one person who had made her a promise to help had abandoned it.

Rose Tyler fell asleep to the ragged sounds of her own breathing.

OoOo

The Doctor was late.

He stood in the back of the cemetery, his eyes fixed on Rose's gravestone.

Tears threatened to spill from his eyes, but he held them back. He needed to be strong.

He had promised her.

He told her he was sorry. He told her he was so goddamn sorry and it was his fault and if he hadn't been busy fighting the Daleks that he would have come for her. In an instant. In both of his heartbeats.

He thought he would be in time. He didn't think it would end like this.

He told her how they had only met four times but that she was always special. He told her he had a thing for people who hid the insanity of humankind behind a powerful grace.

He told her that she was one of them.

He told her how she was beautiful and strong and it was all his fault, because it was.

He pressed his forehead against Rose's tombstone, and he muttered the same words over and over.

_"__Please come back. I am so, so sorry."_

She didn't.

OoOo

The Doctor swore to never be late again.


End file.
